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Peace Garden Behind the MoST Now Showcases Piece of German History

Scott Willis
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WAER News

  Most Central New Yorkers, including those who frequent downtown Syracuse, might not know there’s a 12-foot tall piece of history behind the Museum of Science and Technology…even if the intention was for it to be seen…

"We wanted it to be visible.  That's why it was placed  back here.  And so it has remained there ever since.” 

                            

That was more than two decades ago.  But only within the past couple weeks or so has a piece of the Berlin Wall become the centerpiece of a welcoming peace garden.  About 25 years ago, BettyAnnKram was working at what was known then as Inficon Leybold Heraeus in East Syracuse, known today as just Inficon.  It wasn’t long after she and others founded the MoST, which was moving into the armory.  it was also when the Berlin Wall was coming down in Germany.

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News
The side of the wall that once faced West Berlin.

" A colleague in the German company said to me, 'I can get pieces of this, do you want them?'  And I said, 'absolutely.'  So it was through that, it's an unusual connection.  But at that time we were a German company, now it's a Swiss company.”      

 Kram jumped at the completely random opportunity to bring a few 3 foot wide, 12 foot tall sections of the wall to Syracuse and donate them to the MoST.  She says the one outside is very symbolic.

"One side is very colorful, and has a phrase on it that we can interpret...we only see only a portion of it.   Originally, it was quite vivid color.  The reverse side, which was facing East Berlin is completely bare.  I think it's a very clear visual reminder of the imposition on life and culture."

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News
The side of the wall that once faced East Berlin.

  For 29 years, the wall divided Communist East and Democratic West Berlin before it started coming down.  Kram says it was around the 25th anniversary of the beginning of the wall’s demolition last November when Syracuse’s piece got some attention.  That led to the creation of the garden thanks to anonymous donors to the MoST.                

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News
A sledgehammer sits beside the wall. Germans on both sides began chipping away at the Berlin Wall in 1989 in celebration. Governments finished the job over the next two years.

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.